


Trust

by WestEndBroadwayBaby



Category: NCIS
Genre: Angst, BDSM, Case Fic, First Time, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Handcuffs, Implied Jethro Gibbs/Anthony DiNozzo, M/M, Oral Sex, Rope Bondage, Smart!Tony
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-07 18:57:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8812300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WestEndBroadwayBaby/pseuds/WestEndBroadwayBaby
Summary: As Tony adjusts to his new role after Gibbs's sudden departure, a case strikes a nerve - but also leads Tony and Jimmy to become closer in unexpected ways.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [penumbria](https://archiveofourown.org/users/penumbria/gifts).



> Written as part of the 2016 NCIS Secret Santa Gift Exchange.
> 
> Thank you to my wonderful beta, Musichick2004, for her tremendous help and support with this story.

“Just this once, why couldn’t it be another dead petty officer in Rock Creek Park? At least that would spare us the long drive.” 

“McGee! What happened to your lust for investigation? Your nostalgia for your pre-Probie days in Norfolk? Your concern for the welfare of petty officers everywhere?” Tony’s attempt at lightheartedness landed about as well as McGee’s.

“Can we at least grab some lunch before we head out?” 

“No can do, Ziva. I know the timing’s bad, but a lot of powerful people are going to be pushing for answers, so the sooner we get to Norfolk, the better.” Tony almost asked Ziva why she seemed to think it was appropriate to question his instructions, but the clock was ticking and he needed to focus on getting the team on the road. 

Anyway, although Ziva and McGee didn’t know it, only ten minutes earlier Tony himself had challenged Jenny’s decision to send the MCRT out on this case, reminding her that they had just wrapped up a huge investigation in the early hours of that morning, after working eight long days in a row. Jenny had made sure to remind _him_ that the unexplained sudden death of a high-profile officer demanded the immediate attention of the agency’s top team; of course Tony already knew that, just as he knew that – with or without Gibbs – the MCRT was that team.

*****

Since they didn’t know what to expect in Norfolk, or how long they might be there, Tony decided that his team would need to take an agency Charger along with the truck. McGee quickly volunteered to drive the truck, probably motivated in part by a wish to avoid Ziva’s driving. Ziva called shotgun, leaving Tony alone with the Charger. Ducky and Palmer were going to follow in the ME truck.

Tony would have liked to have been able to use the long drive to start talking through the case and setting various inquiries in motion – over the phone if need be – but the scene had been locked down pending arrival of the MCRT and no one really knew what exactly they would be investigating. Tony was therefore left alone with his thoughts, and with whatever music he could get to play on the Charger’s sound system. This really wasn’t ideal. The past few weeks had been very rough, and Tony was feeling isolated enough even when he was _with_ his team.

*****

In Norfolk, Tony drove up to the gate first, with McGee and Ziva immediately behind him. One of the guards at the gate directed them to a small parking lot next to the entrance, where an NCIS agent was waiting for them. 

“Michael Greenwood. Call me Mike.”

“I’m _Very_ Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo. Call me Tony. These are my colleagues, Special Agent Timothy McGee and Officer Ziva David. Our ME and his assistant will be joining us in the next few minutes.”

“No Special Agent Gibbs?”

 _That question, yet again._ “No Gibbs. I’m the team lead now.” Tony smiled his brightest smile.

“Since when?”

“Since three weeks ago.” Tony didn’t add that it felt like a lot longer. “So what can you tell me about Chief Warrant Officer Johnson and his team?”

“Johnson and his team are the go-to team for high-risk apprehension and exfil work. They are out on assignment most of the time, but they returned to Norfolk for a month three days ago. Johnson had scheduled a day in the training facility to run various scenarios.” 

“Johnson’s personal life?”

“He was a Marine down to his bones. No family. Usually working. His work was his life.”

“What do you know about what happened this morning?”

“The officer in charge of the training facility raised the alarm at 10:33. One of the team members had found Johnson unresponsive during an exercise. A paramedic team went in at 10:36 and Johnson was pronounced dead at 10:54. They called me in at 10:55; as soon as they had shown me the scene, I cleared the facility and had it locked down. Johnson’s body is still in there.”

“What about his team?”

“In a conference room in my building.”

They weren’t suspects – at least not yet – but Tony was nevertheless unhappy with the violation of the spirit of Rule 1. He growled a little to himself. First things first, though. “Can you take us to the scene? I see that my ME has just arrived.”

*****

The facility was a large warehouse-like space, with separate sections containing realistic mock versions of a village, a floor of a residential building and the interior of a naval ship. 

Jimmy could not keep his excitement to himself. “It’s like being inside a first-person shooter!”

Tony was amused by Jimmy’s enthusiasm, but also quick to correct him. “No, my little Autopsy Gremlin. Those games that you and Elf Lord here play are – _sometimes_ – like combat situations, and combat situations are what the Navy has spent a lot of money to simulate here.” He paused, noting Jimmy’s chagrin, while McGee glared ever so slightly. “Anyway, I’d argue that it’s more like a movie set.” Another pause. “But no matter how cool the space is, we have a body here and we need to stop talking and start processing the scene.”

Greenwood led them through a complicated maze of corridors and rooms to a walk-in closet inside one of the fake apartments. Johnson’s body was in a corner of the room, curled up on the floor. There was no blood, and there were no obvious signs of trauma. Ziva took a few photos of the body before Ducky and Jimmy moved in to begin their examination and McGee and Ziva started to process the rest of the apartment. Tony thought he caught Ziva muttering something under her breath about his lack of direct participation in the processing work, but he decided he'd address that later.

While Ziva and McGee started to collect evidence and sketch the scene, Tony explored the apartment, silently memorizing the layout and trying to get a feel for the angles and sightlines. A few times, he tested them by stalking through the apartment, simulating a gun with his hands like a play-acting child; Greenwood barely contained his disdain at what he clearly considered to be juvenile time-wasting.

Tony soon became quite frustrated: without knowing more about the movements of Johnson and his team, he wasn’t able to come to many conclusions about the chain of events leading to Johnson’s death; at the same time, interviews about what had happened would be less effective if he didn’t understand the scene. Tony was not going to allow a walk-through with Johnson’s team (he kept having to remind himself to consider them all witnesses at this point) until the scene had been thoroughly searched and documented, so that possible contamination was no longer an issue.

By the time Tony returned to the walk-in closet, Ducky and Jimmy were almost ready to remove the body. 

“I’ll stop by autopsy later tonight for an update.” He winked at Palmer out of habit, grinning when the younger man flushed and looked back down at his work.

“I take it that you would like us to start examining the Chief Warrant Officer right away?” Ducky drew his attention back to the case.

“Yes, Ducky.” He paused. “Please.” Ducky looked somewhat appeased. “I can bring you pizza?” 

“I shall need to look in on Mother once our work is done for the night, and I will want to focus on the task at hand until then, but perhaps Mr. Palmer would like to take you up on your offer.”

“Actually, Tony, that would be very nice.” Jimmy smiled tentatively. After thinking for a moment, and glancing at his watch, he added, “I don’t suppose you could give me a ride home as well? I took my car into the shop this morning, and I won’t make it back to D.C. in time to pick it up.”

“That’s a date, Autopsy Gremlin. We can order pizza to your place.”

*****

Once Ducky and Jimmy had gone, Tony turned to Greenwood. “Could you take me to Johnson’s team now? I’d like to talk to them as soon as possible, before spending more time here with my team.”

Greenwood took Tony to the office building, and to the conference room in which Johnson’s team was waiting. 

There were three men and two women in the room. The youngest-looking man and woman were in standard Marine combat uniform, while the other three were in black combat-style gear. The older woman and all three men had visible cuts and bruises. When Tony and Greenwood entered, everyone went silent. 

“This is Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo from the NCIS Major Case Response Team based in DC. He will be leading the investigation into Chief Warrant Officer Johnson’s death. Agent DiNozzo, this is Chief Warrant Officer Johnson’s team: Master Sergeant Rita Begum, Staff Sergeant Bradley Harris, Lance Corporal Jesse Sykes, Private Heather Mitchell and Private Trevor Reagan.”

“I’m very sorry for your loss.” He paused. “Once the scene is cleared, I would appreciate it if you could do a walk-through with me of what happened. In the meantime, I’d like to interview each of you separately, to get all of the facts down while they are still fresh. Agent Greenwood has found us a small office down the hall; Master Sergeant, let’s begin with you.”

*****

“Master Sergeant Begum, let’s get started. Tell me about this morning.”

“Mitchell and Reagan have only just joined the team. Johnson hand-picked them for their skills after they ended up working with us on a couple of tricky missions. But nothing can really prepare you for the work that we do, so we’re spending a few weeks here with them before going out on any missions.” She paused. “I realize that, on paper, what we do is not that unique – but Johnson has a reputation for being able to handle jobs that no one else wants, and we have the highest success rate in the Corps, so it’s a bit more high-pressure than it looks.”

“Is that why you’ve stayed with Johnson rather than having your own team?” Tony knew all too well that this might be a sensitive topic, especially in the context of this interview; he was interested in Begum’s physical reaction as much as her answer.

Begum did not show any emotional response to the question. _She’s good_ , Tony thought.

“Trust is a huge part of what we do, Special Agent DiNozzo. I don’t know what you've faced in the field, but on our missions, your life can literally depend on your team. I trust – _trusted_ – Johnson absolutely, to have my six, to get the job done and never to leave a man behind. There is no one I’d want on a dangerous op with me more than Johnson. I would like to think that he trusted me just as much. I would never willingly walk away from the team.”

“Understood.” _Fuck_. Knowingly or not, Begum had hit a nerve.

“So today, we were going to run six different scenarios. Johnson had arranged for us to have the whole facility to ourselves. Reagan and Mitchell were taking turns taking the lead on the ops, with Sykes on their side for some of them. Johnson, Harris and I were covering all of the other roles.”

“Did the team do a lot of these training days?”

“We are deployed a lot of the time, but Johnson always insisted on doing training ops over and over again, saying that we could never be too prepared. This was the first time with Mitchell and Reagan, though.” She paused. “Anyway, the first two missions went pretty much as expected. In the first, Mitchell was leading an apprehension op in the village, with Harris as the target. Johnson and I were providing resistance. Things went pretty smoothly, all things considered, and they took Harris down within 25 minutes of the start of the exercise. The second op was on the ship, with Reagan taking the lead in capturing Johnson, and Sykes working with Johnson, Harris and me. It was a bit more complicated, and a few of us got a bit banged up, but everything was over within an hour.”

Begum was telling the story in a very calm, clinical fashion. Tony couldn’t decide yet whether this was a sign of strength or of guilt. He tapped his pen rhythmically as she continued.

“Johnson was found at the end of the third mission. In that one, Reagan was the lead again, but this time it was an exfil op, in the apartments. I was the subject; Johnson, Harris and Sykes were holding and guarding me. In the scenario, the electricity had been cut in support of the op, so it was pretty dark – although of course Reagan and Mitchell had night-vision equipment. I was on the floor of one of the three bedrooms, cuffed to a pipe, with Sykes in the room with me, guarding me. Johnson and Harris were elsewhere in the apartment, but I didn’t have visibility on exactly where they were.”

“So what happened from your perspective?” Tony leaned forward, focusing on her body language as much as on what she was saying.

“Sykes and I were waiting in silence, of course, and for about twenty minutes we couldn’t hear any noise from outside the room. After that, a few muffled noises came through, and by about 48 minutes into the op Mitchell and Reagan had overpowered Sykes, freed me and got me out into the open. Once they had completed the mission, I called out the signal for the exercise to end, and Harris and Sykes joined us. There was no sign of Johnson, so we went looking for him. Harris found him in the closet, unresponsive.”

Tony vowed never to play poker with this woman. It was like getting a report from Ducky, but without the anecdotes. “Do you have any idea how he got there, or what happened?”

“None at all. We couldn’t see Johnson during the op, and the noises that we heard during the exercise were all very muffled. I don’t know exactly where he was stationed for the op, but it almost certainly wasn’t the closet; supposedly no one saw him during the op.”

“Were you and Sykes together the whole time?”

“Yes. Johnson likes to keep the scenarios as real as possible. Sykes was defending the room, and guarding me. I was genuinely cuffed to the pipe: as part of the exercise the privates had to free me, without causing harm or exposing themselves to threats.” She paused. “And before you ask, yes, the facility has comprehensive video surveillance, with infrared functionality. But Johnson worried about people getting access to footage of our team and our tactics, so he always had it disabled before we started training for the day. Johnson wasn’t a big user of high-tech gear. He preferred to go on instinct.” Another pause. “Some people really struggled to fit in with his style, and he didn’t have much patience for them, but Johnson was an absolute natural, and a pro, at what he did.”

Tony could relate to that. _Maybe his ‘style’ finally got him killed._ “Do you have any theories as to how Johnson ended up dead in a closet?”

“None at all. The man was as strong as a horse, and had survived Iraq, Afghanistan and a host of other hostile environments. And although he didn’t have live rounds on him, he did have at least one knife – and he was a master of hand-to-hand combat – so if he had perceived any threat, I’m confident that he would have dealt with it.”

Begum had no idea how much he understood. “Now I have to ask you this: did your feelings for Chief Warrant Officer Johnson go beyond the professional?”

“Are you asking me that because I’m a woman?” She narrowed her eyes at Tony.

“No. I’ll be asking the men on your team the same thing.” Tony thought that he saw a flicker of something in Begum’s eyes in response to that. _Interesting_.

“Johnson was a great Marine, and a great man. He terrified some people and irritated others, but on a fundamental level he was completely devoted to the mission and to doing the right thing. It was an honor to serve with him.” She paused. “I feel a strong connection with him, and I dread the thought of doing this work without him, especially after 15 years of working together.” Tony kept looking at her, as if waiting for more. “That being said, the feelings between us never crossed the line into anything more than professional respect and camaraderie.”

“Did either of the other existing team members have feelings for Johnson of which you were aware?”

Begum responded with an icy glare. Tony thought again about just how much he hated the effects of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

“Are you angry because you don’t like the question, or angry because you don’t like the answer?” Tony quirked his eyebrows.

Begum remained stone-faced.

“I guess we might as well stop here. Could you please ask Staff Sergeant Harris to come in and see me next?”

“Of course, Special Agent DiNozzo.” With that polite goodbye, she was off.

*****

Harris arrived in the small office a couple of minutes later. Like Begum, he was professional but not quite friendly. His detailed description of the morning was entirely consistent with Begum’s. Harris told Tony that he had been in the kitchen of the apartment during the third op, guarding the only door to the unit.

Tony kept on questioning Harris, trying to gain some insight as to what had happened. Eventually, he asked about Johnson’s movements during the exercise.

“Johnson was positioned in the bedroom next to the one that had Begum and Sykes in it. He was covering the back half of the apartment. There is a line of vision from one end of the kitchen to that bedroom, but of course we had both taken cover and the lights were out, so I couldn’t actually see him.” He paused. “Mitchell and Reagan came into the apartment through the front door and neutralized me after a diversion and a struggle. In accordance with the protocol for the exercise, I then stayed down in position until the exercise was terminated. I didn’t see what Mitchell and Johnson did between taking me down and getting Begum out.”

“What do you _think_ happened?” Tony was using his “Good Cop” approach with Harris, hoping to encourage him to open up.

“I think that someone had a beef with Johnson and was using our exercise as cover. Whether it was one of us or an outsider, I don’t know. But Johnson was a good man and a great leader, and if NCIS doesn’t find out who did this without delay, I’ll go all the way to the top .” By this point, Harris had clenched his fists tightly and his body was visibly rigid with tension.

“Noted”, Tony said calmly, like the Good Cop that he was. “So, tell me about your relationship with Harris.”

“We worked together for the past 14 years. Hundreds of ops, rescuing marines and capturing some real dirtbags. I don’t know if I’ll ever trust anyone with my six as much as I trusted him.” 

“So you respected the guy. But did you like him?”

“Johnson wasn’t the kind of guy that you _liked_. There was an incredibly strong bond, but it was nothing like a typical friendship. We had gone through too much together. I don’t know if you can understand that.”

Tony stayed silent. He was pretty sure he _could_ understand it.

Harris continued: “And unless you’ve had a teammate die on you during an op, you sure as hell know nothing about what this feels like.” 

The events of the previous year were still far too raw to allow Tony to say anything in response. He nodded. After a moment, Tony continued. “Did either of the other existing team members have feelings for Johnson that went beyond the professional?”

“They’d better not have had any!” Tony thought he might have detected a hint of jealously in Harris’s statement.

*****

Sykes’s version of events was also consistent with the narratives provided by Begum and Harris. He had not seen or heard anything that might help the investigation. He added that Reagan and Mitchell had done a good job the part of the op that directly involved him and Begum. Sykes didn’t know much about either of the privates, but like his senior teammates, he put tremendous trust in Johnson’s choice of team members.

Eventually, Tony turned to the topic of the team members’ relationships with Johnson. “How would you describe Johnson’s personal relationships with Begum and Harris?”

Sykes expression somehow turned even more serious. “They had both been working with Johnson for so long that their lives were completely intertwined. This sort of work requires absolute trust; you have to be prepared, at an absolute base level, to do absolutely anything for your teammates. We are – _were_ – that kind of team. All of us.” 

*****

The two privates, in their separate interviews, gave clear descriptions of their movements that tallied with the limited details offered by their teammates. After neutralizing Harris, they had separated and started a methodical search of the rest of the apartment. According to their descriptions of the exercise, Reagan had identified the correct bedroom first, and had motioned to Harris to join him for the final assault. Both denied having encountered Johnson.

*****

After checking with McGee and Ziva to ensure that the processing of the scene was complete, Tony finally made it back to the training facility, with Johnson’s team in tow. 

Tony pulled McGee an Ziva aside for a sitrep. They confirmed that they had thoroughly photographed and sketched the scene, and gathered what evidence they could find, but said they had not found any obvious clues as to what had happened; input from Abby and Ducky would be needed.

Tony explained that he wanted to have Johnson’s team run through the third op for them, so that they could understand everyone’s movements. He asked Ziva to cover the bedroom in which Begum and Sykes had been stationed, while McGee stood near the door to the apartment and Tony stood between the kitchen and the bedrooms.

Tony’s suggestion was met with mutinous glares from his team.

“Just humor me.”

“We have been going non-stop for ten hours now, and we still have to get ourselves and the evidence back to the Yard.” Ziva’s tone could almost be described as whiny.

“You know as well as I do that this could be absolutely key, not just to see how the movements match the narratives and the timeline, but to see how each person reacts to the others. We have a job to do.” He was getting awfully tired of this insubordination, but now was neither the time nor the place.

McGee raised an eyebrow, but nothing more was said.

*****

The walk-through – done with full lighting and with everyone narrating every movement made – went very smoothly. As expected, Mitchell and Reagan entered the apartment almost simultaneously and then created a diversion that enabled them eventually to overpower Harris. They then moved into the hallway and split up, with Mitchell heading first to a bathroom on the left and Reagan heading into a bedroom to the right. Reagan emerged from this bedroom, which was neither the one with the walk-in closet nor the hiding place of Sykes and Begum, and then crossed over to the hiding place, listening for a moment before seeing Mitchell and waving her over. The final phase of the exercise went very smoothly.

When the walk-through was done, Tony dismissed Johnson’s team, asking the team members to stay on base until further notice and to be prepared to make themselves available at the Navy Yard if further interviews were needed.

After Johnson’s team had left, Greenwood quietly confirmed to Tony that he had succeeded in getting the cameras turned back on in time, and that he would have the footage of the walk-through transmitted to McGee ASAP. 

*****

The MCRT finally left Norfolk just before 7:30 p.m. McGee once again insisted on driving the truck; Ziva hopped in with him before Tony could object.

The phone started to ring almost as soon as Tony left the base. He answered via hands-free. “DiNozzo.”

“Hi Tony. It’s Director Shepard.”

“Jenny!”

“That’s _Director Shepard_ , Tony.” The correction was firm.

Tony did not reply, choosing to focus on his driving instead.

“What do you have for me?”

“One dead Chief Warrant Officer, with no signs of major trauma, no obvious cause of death and no witnesses. Ducky and Jimmy should be back at Autopsy any minute now, and ready to get started, and Abby is in her lab waiting for us to return with the evidence. We should have more for you once they have finished their work, but that probably won’t be until the morning.”

“What does your gut say, Tony?”

“My gut says that something is fishy here, but that the killer – _if_ there is one at all – is not one of the senior team members. We really need the autopsy and forensics here, though.”

“So you don’t think the wife did it? Or the girlfriend?” Jenny’s tone here grated on Tony, even though he couldn’t pinpoint exactly why.

“As far as I can see, there was no wife or partner,” Tony answered very neutrally.

“Aren’t there women on his team?”

“Yes, there are women. There are men too, and from meeting with both of them I’d say that it was just as likely that either one of the senior officers was – or wanted to be – personally involved with Johnson. But there is no evidence that that happened, or that, even if it did happen, it made anyone want to kill him. I really don’t think that speculating now will do us any good.”

Jenny asked if Tony would be returning to the office that night.

“Of course, Jenny! I need to back up my team, and to check in with Ducky and Abby. I’ve promised to drive Palmer home at some point, but after that I’ll be back in, probably for the duration.”

“Be sure to keep me posted.”

“Will do.”

*****

Tony, McGee and Ziva got back to the Yard at 10:00 p.m. McGee and Ziva headed straight to Abby’s lab, while Tony made a beeline for Autopsy. Tony needed an update on the examination of Johnson’s remains, but he was also eager to see a couple of friendly faces.

Ducky and Jimmy were tidying up when Tony arrived. Although they were clearly weary, they both smiled at Tony when he entered the room.

“Thank you again for moving forward so quickly with the autopsy.”

“Don’t be silly, Anthony. It’s our job. And there is obviously a lot of pressure on all of us to come up with an explanation for Johnson’s death – and to identify the culprit or culprits.” Ducky was professional as always, but also sincere and warm.

“So what are you thinking so far?” Tony couldn’t bring himself to ask “What’ve you got?” He was all too aware of the fact that he was not Gibbs, and that he must not appear to be trying to be Gibbs.

“The examination showed that Johnson had fractured a couple of ribs shortly before his death. It looks as though his hasty and untimely demise came about when one of the broken ribs caused a tension pneumothorax – but Johnson also had some internal bleeding that may have contributed to his death. I have sent some samples to Abigail in the hope that she can provide confirmation of my theory. With any luck, she will also be able to provide some insight as to the specific cause of the broken ribs.”

“I thought that there were no signs of serious trauma,” Tony said, confused. “Actually, I saw Johnson’s ribs. I didn’t see anything beyond a few minor cuts and scrapes, like the others have.”

“That’s because the ribs were broken shortly before Johnson died,” Ducky replied calmly. “The bruises hadn’t formed.”

Ducky paused before continuing. “Also, I should note that someone almost certainly moved Johnson after the fatal rib injury, but before his death. This might have exacerbated the internal injuries. Again, Abigail should be able to tell us more after she has run her analyses. I imagine that Timothy and Ziva may also have found some evidence in that respect at the scene.”

“Thank you very much, both of you.”

“Anytime, Anthony,” Ducky replied. 

“Yes,” Jimmy echoed.

“Do you still want a ride home, Jimmy? And a pizza?”

Jimmy smiled and nodded wearily. “Both, preferably.”

“No problem. I need to check in with Abs, but I should be back in a few minutes. Be ready for me then.” Jimmy smiled again.

Tony rushed off to Abby’s lab. When he arrived, McGee and Ziva were chattering with Abby about the day’s investigations. As soon as Tony arrived, though, his MCRT colleagues made their excuses and headed back to the bullpen.

“How are the tests going, Abs?” Tony tried to keep his tone as positive as possible.

“Timmy and Ziva have only just brought me their evidence, but I started the samples from Autopsy about 40 minutes ago. It’s going to take at least a few more hours before I have anything concrete for you.” Abby scrunched her nose as she thought of the long night ahead.

“Thanks, Abs. I’ll be back in a couple of hours, and then I’ll stick around until we’re done.” With that, Tony headed back to Autopsy to find Jimmy, calling up to the bullpen as he went to tell McGee and Ziva to go home to sleep for a few hours.

*****

Tony and Jimmy arrived at Jimmy’s small apartment shortly before midnight. As they walked inside and then into the living room, Jimmy called the late-night pizza place with their order. After hanging up, Jimmy stayed where he was, staring at Tony.

“What is it, Jimmy? You’re not supposed to stand around awkwardly in your own living room!”

Palmer shifted nervously.

“Palmer!”

Jimmy made a strange face before finally speaking. “So….” He went silent again.

“Yes, Jimmy?” The tone was a tiny bit teasing, but it probably would have made Palmer even more nervous if Tony had _not_ done his usual teasing.

“Today’s crime scene. That whole training centre….”

“Yes?” Tony really wished that Jimmy would just hurry up and spit it out.

“Have you done training like that?”

“Of course, Black Lung! We had to do that at the Academy in Illinois. And then again in FLETC, only with slightly more exotic scenarios. Gibbs and I have also run some of the newer probies through some practice ops.”

Jimmy somehow finally regained the ability to speak more than a few words at a time. “So what’s it like? I mean pretending to be captured? Or playing a hostage? I mean, assuming that you’ve never been arrested – or even cuffed – before, what does that feel like? I’ve always … I guess I’ve just always … wondered about that sort of thing.”

Tony studied Jimmy for a moment, tilting his head slightly as he studied Jimmy but otherwise remaining perfectly still. “You’ve _wondered_ about that sort of thing?”

“Yeah, like what does it feel like to know that you can’t escape? That someone else is in control. That you have to trust them. Working the scene this afternoon left me thinking about that. Actually, I guess it’s something that I’ve wondered about for longer than that.“

Jimmy finally paused. Tony continued to study him.

Suddenly, before Jimmy could process what was happening, Tony crossed the space between the two, grabbed Jimmy’s right wrist, and did something with his leg that gave Jimmy no choice but to go where Tony led him. Moments later, Jimmy found himself pressed firmly against the wall, face first, his legs spread. Jimmy then realized that his hands had been swiftly and efficiently cuffed behind his back.

Holding onto Jimmy’s cuffed wrists with one hand, Tony leaned his head into the space beside Jimmy’s ear. 

“Does that answer your question, Jimmy?” Tony smirked as he spun Jimmy around and then held Jimmy by the biceps. 

Jimmy didn’t reply. He just looked at Tony with dilated pupils, breathing considerably more heavily than he had done just a few minutes ago. This reaction was not in itself surprising; Tony _was_ surprised, however, by the reddening cheeks and what looked like a new fullness below Jimmy’s belt. He had been expecting to get a reaction out of Jimmy, but not _that_ sort of reaction. _Very interesting_.

Tony chose to buy himself a bit of time while deciding what to do with this new information. Putting on a broad DiNozzo smile, he cheerfully asked “Well?”

“Yes.” Jimmy’s voice was suddenly huskier than Tony would ever have imagined possible. 

A minute or two passed in silence.

“So are you going to ask me to free you? Or have you also wondered what it feels like to be frisked thoroughly?” He waggled his eyebrows playfully.

Before Jimmy could answer, the buzzer went off. 

“Pizza time! You just stay right where you are and be good while I get the pizza from the nice delivery person. Ok?”

Jimmy nodded.

Tony reached for his wallet and headed to the intercom and door. Jimmy stayed put, experimenting with moving his arms and wrists while listening to a very cheerful conversation between Tony and the woman who had brought their dinner.

When Tony returned with the food, Jimmy went still. Tony set out the pizza and drinks, and then pulled his keys out of his pocket and unlocked the cuffs.

Jimmy rubbed his wrists, looking at them with a sort of fascination. For the next few minutes, they ate in companionable silence, with Jimmy staring at the slowly-fading marks. 

Once they were slightly less desperate for nourishment, Jimmy asked Tony how he thought Johnson had broken his ribs. Tony said that he was really hoping that Abby could help with that question. To Jimmy’s disappointment, this train of thought prompted Tony to excuse himself so that he could head back to the Yard for an update from Abby.

“Thanks for hosting, Autopsy Gremlin. We should do this again sometime!”

Jimmy looked very happy with that suggestion.

*****

Tony spent most of the rest of the night alone in the bullpen, reviewing his notes and the footage from the walk-through with the team. Shortly after dawn, he came up with a theory – but it was a theory that included elements that would need McGee’s input.

Tony was watching the elevator closely, and he sprung to life when McGee arrived for the day. “McGee! Just the person I wanted to see!”

“Tony! You look like shit.”

“It’s been a long night.”

As soon as McGee was sitting at his desk, Tony was right beside him. Speaking very quietly to evade eavesdroppers, Tony asked McGee to look for any evidence of attempts to retrieve or delete footage of Tuesday morning’s fatal training session.

“I thought that it wasn’t recorded.” McGee gave Tony a slightly smug look. 

“We know that, Probie, and Begum and Harris know that, but maybe someone else doesn’t.”

“Sounds like a colossal waste of time to me!”

“But you’ll do it anyway?”

“Do I have a choice?”

Tony didn’t even answer that. He returned to his desk as McGee reluctantly got started on his research.

Two hours later, McGee caught Tony’s eye across the bullpen with a look of pure triumph.

“Does that look mean what I think it means?”

Tim nodded.

“Good work, Probie! So who was it?” 

*****

Tony arranged for Johnson’s entire team to come to the Yard later that afternoon to discuss the case. Tony sat at the head of the table by the conference room door, accompanied by McGee and Ziva, as they discussed the MCRT’s findings with Johnson’s team.

“We have good news and bad news.” He paused. “Our ME and our forensic specialist have determined that Johnson was not murdered in cold blood.” Most of Johnson’s team looked relieved at this news, but Harris looked skeptical.

“Johnson died of a tension pneumothorax, caused by fractured ribs. The ribs were almost certainly initially fractured during the second exercise of the day, in which a number of you were also injured. From speaking with you, I don’t doubt that Johnson would have downplayed his injuries so that he could get on with the job.” That seemed to be almost a requirement of being a Marine. Tony continued, “Unfortunately, however, it appears that a piece of already-broken rib punctured Johnson’s lung when he was confronted by one of you during the third exercise. That person saw Johnson’s condition worsen, but moved Johnson out of the way and into the closet rather than recognizing the need to summon medical help. All of that may have been a series of innocent mistakes in the context of a mock operation; however, denying and then trying to cover up what had happened was a much more serious matter.”

Tony, McGee and Ziva were carefully watching the reactions of those present. The three senior members of Johnson’s team were also watching Reagan and Mitchell very closely.

“Perhaps the most egregious act of all, though, was the attempt to hack into video footage of the exercise, presumably to delete it. What you must not have known was that the footage didn’t exist.” 

At this, Reagan jumped up from his seat and started to move swiftly toward the door. Tony grabbed him, swung him around and placed him in custody, cuffing him while the rest of Johnson’s team looked on in horror. 

“Let’s get this coward out of here. McGee, you’re with me. We will be back in a few minutes.”

Tony and McGee then led a resistant Reagan to the NCIS holding facility, passing a very wide-eyed Jimmy along the way. Tony silently took note of Jimmy’s reaction.

*****

After Tony had personally ensured that Reagan was being processed into the holding facility, and then briefly spoken again with Johnson’s team, Tony rushed to update Director Shepard. 

After being waved into the Director’s office, Tony quickly explained Johnson’s injuries, his resulting death, and his conclusion that Reagan had tried to cover up his role in Johnson’s death. Tony added that he would have the MCRT’s final report ready as soon as possible after his interrogation of Reagan.

“What made you and McGee pursue the video angle? You knew that the footage didn’t exist.”

“Rule 8, Director.”

“Which one is that again?” Jenny’s impatience was obvious.

“Never take anything for granted.” Tony managed to seem calm, but only from years of experience in masking his true feelings. 

“And how can you be sure that no one was using the exercise as a convenient cover for an attack on Johnson?” Jenny’s question wasn’t quite friendly.

“That scenario doesn’t fit with the timeline, and it’s not consistent with the other analyses done by Ducky and Abby. In any event, Reagan’s behaviour a few minutes ago, and the reactions of the other team members, go a long way to confirm that the narrative suggested by the physical evidence is in fact correct.” Tony paused. “You may want to believe that there has to have been some great crime of passion, because that fits with your assumptions about the case and about team dynamics. But sometimes you have to change your mind. Sometimes – you’re wrong. There ought to be a rule about that as well.”

Tony paused again before continuing, politely but firmly. “But if you will excuse me, I will now try to get a detailed statement – and a confession – from Reagan, so that we can close the case.”

*****

The MCRT finally wrapped up the Johnson investigation on Thursday afternoon, 50 hours after getting the call. Abby’s final reports, along with statements made by Reagan during his interrogation, made it clear that Reagan had almost certainly caused Johnson’s initial injury – which would not itself have been a crime under the circumstances – and then had gone on to commit multiple crimes in his attempts to deny and cover up his role in Johnson’s death. Tony sent McGee and Ziva home, telling them to take Friday off and return on Monday morning. They quickly scurried out of the bullpen.

Once McGee and Ziva had left, Tony made a call. “Autopsy Gremlin, do you want to come over for pizza tomorrow night? You know, a re-run of Tuesday night.”

Although Tony could only imagine Jimmy’s reaction, Jimmy in fact went much redder than any pizza invitation could warrant.

“Sure. That would be great. See you there at 8?”

*****

At 8:00 p.m. exactly, Tony’s buzzer rang. Tony buzzed Jimmy in, and a couple of minutes later he greeted a slightly jumpy Jimmy at the door.

“Come on in! I’m not going to bite.” Tony was at his most jovial. “Or maybe you want me to bite?” Tony raised one eyebrow slightly, still keeping the tone very lighthearted.

Jimmy stepped inside, and Tony closed and locked the door. Tony had had a bit of time to prepare for Jimmy’s arrival. The living room had an air of calm about it, with blinds shut and the lighting neither too bright nor too soft. It was comfortably warm, and gentle classical music could faintly be heard playing in another room.

Tony motioned Jimmy toward the sofa. Jimmy sat down, and Tony chose a spot at the other end of the sofa.

“Are you hungry now, or should we wait a bit?”

“Let’s wait a bit.”

Jimmy settled into the sofa, starting to look a bit more relaxed.

“So was it just the culinary elements of Tuesday night that you were eager to recreate, or did you have something else in mind?” Tony got straight to the point.

“Um…”

“Because on Tuesday I got the impression that you weren’t just happy that I had satisfied your longstanding intellectual curiosity.” 

Jimmy bit his lower lip.

Tony smiled that big Tony smile that he used so often in the bullpen. “And if you have other kinds of curiosity, I’d be quite happy to help you with those.” Tony paused, a more sincere expression replacing the big smile. “Seriously, Jimmy.” 

Another pause. Jimmy wasn’t looking directly at him, instead focusing on his own hands in his lap.

Tony continued, “Anyhow, judging from your reaction when we passed you in the hallway with Private Reagan, it might be good to _desensitize_ you a bit. You know, in the interest of science. You’re a scientist, right? At least sort of a scientist? If nothing else, it might help you to avoid an awkward situation in the middle of an investigation.”

Jimmy looked really hard at Tony this time. They had grown a lot closer in the weeks since Gibbs had left, and he was reasonably certain that Tony wasn’t just messing with him. And a part of Jimmy _really_ just wanted to go with this. Still, it was a bit of a leap of faith.

“Do you trust me, Jimmy?”

“Yes?” 

Tony smiled. Not a predatory smile, or the easy but shallow smile that he frequently deployed, but the genuine smile that very few people ever saw. “Thank you, Jimmy.”

Now it was Jimmy’s turn to smile. 

“You’ll need a safeword. Something easy to remember, and distinctive, that you definitely wouldn’t say by accident.”

Jimmy didn’t need to stop to think of one. “Petechia.”

Tony raised one eyebrow, then nodded. “Petechia. Ok. And what do you want tonight, Jimmy?”

“I’m not sure.” Jimmy paused. “All I know is that Tuesday night was good. Very good.” 

“Do you want me to pay any attention to _Little Jimmy_ , or any other _sensitive_ areas?” Tony cringed, outwardly and inwardly, at his own choice of words, but the issue needed to be addressed.

Jimmy might have chosen a safeword ahead of time, but it seemed quite clear that he hadn’t thought about these sorts of specifics. He started to look a bit anxious again.

“There is no right or wrong answer, Jimmy. Why don’t I check in with you later?”

“Yeah. That would be good.” It seemed that Jimmy still couldn’t really believe that this was happening.

“Give me your hands.”

After taking a deep breath and shifting a little in his seat, Jimmy reached his hands out toward Tony. Their eyes locked as each tried to understand what the other was thinking. Tony took Jimmy’s hands and slowly and gently rotated Jimmy’s wrists until he was happy with their position. Then Tony pulled out a pair of regulation handcuffs from somewhere – in the moment, Jimmy wasn’t quite sure where – and swiftly and expertly secured them in place. 

“That ok?”

Jimmy nodded. Although Tony had let go of them, Jimmy was still holding his hands out in front of him.

“You can move your hands, you know. The cuffs can take it. You presumably can as well. Get a good look.”

Jimmy did.

“They’re not the best for long stretches of time, or for energetic play, but you can’t go wrong with a classic.” Tony smiled.

Jimmy nodded, and then he too smiled.

After a few minutes, Tony very slowly reached a hand toward Jimmy, and then gently stroked Jimmy’s cheek with his thumb. 

“Are you ready to try something more?”

Jimmy hesitated for a moment, but then answered with confidence. “Yes.”

“Maybe some rope? Judging from your reaction to the cuffs, I think you’d enjoy that.”

“Ok.”

Tony touched Jimmy’s sleeve. “It would be better if you took this off, and just wore your T-shirt.” 

“Ok.”

“And I can lend you some sweats, which will be more comfortable than jeans.”

Jimmy nodded.

Tony pulled out his keys and waited for Jimmy to offer his wrists, which he eventually did. Tony swiftly unlocked the cuffs. “You can change in the bedroom. I’ll get the sweats now and put them on the bed. This might also be a good time for you to take a bathroom break. I’ll be here when you’re ready.”

Jimmy hurried off, and while he was in the bathroom Tony put a pair of soft, well-worn OSU sweats on the bed for him to change into. Tony then returned to the living room and prepared.

A couple of minutes later, Jimmy returned, wearing a T-shirt and Tony’s sweats.

“Ready?”

“Ready.”

Tony walked over to Jimmy and grabbed him by the bicep, guiding him to an empty spot near the piano. Tony stood behind Jimmy and wrapped his arms around him, caressing Jimmy’s abs and chest before moving his hands to Jimmy’s arms. After a couple of minutes, Tony pulled Jimmy’s arms behind him, moving Jimmy’s wrists up until his arms were folded behind him. 

In a matter of minutes, Tony had expertly bound Jimmy’s arms behind his back and created a harness that hugged Jimmy’s upper body securely. Tony turned Jimmy to face him, keeping at least one hand on Jimmy at all times.

“Good?”

Jimmy nodded. Tony could see that Jimmy’s pupils were dilated, again. Tony gently brushed his fingertips across the fabric covering Jimmy’s right nipple. Jimmy gasped. Tony smiled.

“Tell me if you want me to stop.”

“Please don’t stop, Tony.”

Tony pinched the nipple, hard. Jimmy let out an exquisite moan. Tony smiled that genuine smile again.

Tony gently flicked the other nipple, which proved just as delightfully sensitive. He moved his right hand up to Jimmy’s face, stroking Jimmy’s cheek. After firmly establishing eye contact, so that there would be no surprises, Tony moved in to kiss Jimmy softly on the lips. Jimmy leaned in to the kiss and moaned quietly. Tony kept his lips on Jimmy’s as he started working Jimmy’s left nipple; Jimmy quickly opened his lips and let Tony explore.

After a few minutes of this, Tony released Jimmy’s mouth and once again moved behind Jimmy. Jimmy felt Tony’s arms around his upper body as Tony moved his legs and somehow twisted himself; the next thing he knew, Jimmy found himself on his knees on the rug, leaning back against Tony. 

Tony leaned around for another kiss before quietly checking that Jimmy wasn’t feeling any pain or discomfort. He then efficiently rolled Jimmy onto his front before firmly binding Jimmy’s legs together and then securing Jimmy’s ankles to his thighs in a way that prevented Jimmy from straightening his legs. Tony then again began stroking and massaging Jimmy’s body through his clothing, working his way up and down Jimmy’s torso, arms and legs. Eventually, Tony rolled Jimmy onto his side, facing Tony, before paying further attention to Jimmy’s chest. Tony kept checking periodically that Jimmy was comfortable and that he did not feel pins and needles anywhere.

Tony had carefully been avoiding Jimmy’s erection, which was both obvious and impressive despite being concealed under Tony’s OSU sweatpants. Eventually, even in his blissed-out state, Jimmy seemed to realize that Tony was avoiding the area, and started trying to lean his hips into Tony’s touch.

“Are you trying to tell me something, Jimmy?”

“Please, Tony. Please touch me.”

Tony moved so that he was lying down behind Jimmy, with his chest up against Jimmy’s shoulders and bound hands. With one hand, he reached around and gently stroked Jimmy’s cock through the sweatpants. Jimmy moaned, and leaned in as much as he could.

“Touch me properly. Please.”

Tony smacked Jimmy playfully for his impertinence – which only brought another moan – and then reached under the waistbands of the sweatpants and the boxer briefs underneath. He had barely touched Jimmy’s cock for the first time when Jimmy came violently, moaning in a way that turned Tony on tremendously. Tony leaned around and captured Jimmy’s mouth in a passionate kiss.

Tony and Jimmy stayed on the floor, with Tony’s arms wrapped around Jimmy, for several more minutes, before Tony insisted on untying Jimmy. They carefully stood up, with Tony supporting Jimmy, and then Tony held him in a firm hug for several more minutes.

*****

Once Tony had ordered the pizza, he sat down next to Jimmy and pulled him into his arms. Jimmy immediately rested his head on Tony’s shoulder.

After a few minutes, Jimmy looked at Tony. “You’ve done this before, haven’t you?”

The question was fair, but it caught Tony by surprise. “I’ve done lots of things before, Jimmy.”

“But you’ve done _this_ before, with men.”

“Only with one man, and he’s not here anymore.”

“Oh.” Jimmy thought for a moment longer. “ _Oh_.”

“The roles were reversed, though,” Tony quietly added, absentmindedly stroking his own wrist.

They held each other in silence for several minutes before either one spoke again.

Jimmy was the first to speak. “Can we do that again?”

“I’d really like that.”

“Maybe without clothes next time?”

Tony smiled broadly and nodded. And then the pizza arrived.

*****

“Well this _never_ happens!” Tony looked over at Jimmy as he started to steer the ME truck out of the NCIS garage. “Let’s hope that we don’t get abducted by aliens, or end up in a parallel universe, or get punished in some other way for defying the order of things. I mean, have the two of us ever been alone in the truck before?”

The MCRT had been called to the scene of an apparent murder in Maryland. Ziva and McGee were heading to the scene from a witness interview in northern Virginia, while Ducky was making his way there from a conference. Tony had therefore suggested that he ride with Jimmy. 

It had been four nights since “pizza night” at Tony’s apartment, and Tony and Jimmy had planned a further “pizza night” for the coming Saturday, major Naval crimes permitting. However, they had not yet discussed either night in any detail.

Jimmy looked over at Tony, bemused.

“I know I’m absolutely gorgeous, but eyes on the road, not on me!” The tone was affectionate, but Tony meant what he said. 

Jimmy smiled, but also started focusing on his driving. After a few minutes of driving in silence, Tony asked, “So what do you and Ducky usually talk about in the car?”

“Interesting deaths. Or crossword clues, sometimes. But mostly deaths. Dr. Mallard wants me to absorb as much of what he knows as possible.”

“That doesn’t do the two of us much good right now, does it?” He paused. “So what do you think we should talk about, Gremlin?”

“Well, I don’t know if I should bring this up, but …”

“Go on, Jimmy.”

“You keep thinking about the Johnson case, don’t you?” 

That _so_ wasn’t what Tony had been expecting. Tony looked over at Jimmy, who was concentrating on the road while apparently patiently waiting for an answer. Tony flinched almost imperceptibly. Truth be told, the sex talk (for lack of a better description) might have been easier – but if Jimmy was going to be so generous with his trust, it only seemed right to reciprocate.

“It’s hard not to think about it. The whole idea that the guy survived all sorts of dangerous situations in warzones, only to drop dead with no warning on home turf: it’s horrible.” Tony was uncharacteristically serious. “And I just keep thinking about how he was all alone when he died, and how he couldn’t – or maybe just wouldn’t – ask his team for help this one time when he really needed it. After all that he had gone through with Begum, Harris and Sykes.”

Tony continued after a brief pause. “And then I wonder how the rest of the team will go on now. They _will_ keep doing what they do: they’re Marines. But it won’t feel right.”

“I know.” Tony suspected that Jimmy didn’t know what else he could say. 

Tony stayed silent.

“But you guys managed after …” Jimmy winced. Tony got the impression that Jimmy was thinking that - once again- he maybe he should have just kept his mouth shut.

“After?”

“After Kate.” Jimmy focused on the road ahead like he had never focused on anything before.

“We did. But that was different.”

“Different?”

“Kate was an incredibly important member of the team, but she wasn’t the team lead. And she wasn’t alone when she died.” Tony paused for a very long time. “Begum is incredibly capable, but she’s going to have to lead a team that has been defined by its departed leader, and the whole time she’ll probably be wondering if there’s something that she could have done to save him”

“Are we still talking about Johnson?” Jimmy’s tone was more concerned than accusatory.

 _Since when was Jimmy so perceptive?_ Tony thought for a long time before answering Jimmy.

“You know, Jimmy, I have never trusted anyone as much as I trusted Gibbs. I shared things with him that I had never shared with _anyone_. And now, as far as I can tell, he doesn’t remember any of it.” Tony paused. “Maybe if I had fought harder for him to stay...”

“What would you do if he turned up back in the bullpen today?”

“I’d do whatever it took to get things back to how they were. But I’d also try to figure out how to get him to trust me to take care of him.”

“You mean like Friday night?”

Tony was surprised by the question, but also relieved that Jimmy understood. “Not just like that, but yeah. I don’t think it would be easy for him, but I'd want him to know how loved he is.”

There was silence in the car for a few more minutes.

“So are you still up for pizza night on Saturday?” The segue was awkward, and Tony asked the question a little too casually.

“If you are.” Jimmy sounded cautiously optimistic.

“Do you want to talk about it now? It would help to know what you have in mind, though we don’t want to get you all hot and bothered just in time for our big entrance at the crime scene.”

“I’ll risk it.” Jimmy smiled.

“No release before we get there. Is that clear?” Tony smirked. Jimmy nodded, still looking at the road.

“And actually, no touching yourself between now and Saturday, and no getting there without touching yourself. Understood?” Tony sounded quite enthusiastic about this point.

Jimmy looked over at Tony, incredulously.

“Eyes on the road, Jimmy. And I mean it. Save it for Saturday.”

Jimmy swallowed, and then nodded before fidgeting in his seat. It looked as though Tony was already getting a reaction.

“Anything you didn’t like on Friday night?” Tony kept looking at Jimmy.

Jimmy made a muffled noise that sounded suspiciously like a giggle. “Well, Jimmy?”

“No.” The answer was short and straightforward.

“No, but … ?” Tony had recovered some of his usual smirk.

“You know what I said about doing it without clothes?” 

“Yes?” Tony sounded amused.

“I think that we should do that.”

Tony and Jimmy got to discuss a few more details before they arrived at the crime scene. Jimmy, harder than he had been in a long time, mostly managed to hide the telltale bulge beneath a large NCIS jacket. Tony knew, though, and kept aiming challenging glances in Jimmy’s direction.

It may not have been a lengthy discussion, but it had certainly put plenty of thoughts into Jimmy’s mind that were definitely not helping with his efforts to obey Tony’s instruction to wait for Saturday.

*****

Fortunately, the MCRT managed to keep the weekend free. At exactly 7:00 p.m., after killing twenty minutes a couple of blocks away, Tony rang Jimmy’s buzzer. Jimmy answered within seconds, and was waiting at the open door when Tony and his suspiciously large duffel bag arrived a few moments later. Like Tony, Jimmy was wearing jeans and a nice T-shirt; unlike Tony, he was barefoot.

After walking in and firmly shutting and locking the door, Tony looked Jimmy up and down. Jimmy’s pupils were dilated and he was quite flushed, but he didn’t seem at all unsure.

“You ready for me, Jimmy?” Tony was smirking, but the sincerity of his affection for Jimmy was clear on his face.

“Yes.” Jimmy may have been trying not to sound too eager, but if so, he was not succeeding.

Tony carried his bag to the entrance to the bedroom and then put it down before returning to stand by Jimmy in the living room. “Before we get started, do you have any questions?” There was a gleam in his eye, but Tony asked the question very seriously.

“No.”

“Good. And what’s your safeword?”

“Petechia.”

Tony nodded. “You are to use your safeword immediately if anything makes you feel uncomfortable, physically or otherwise. Understood?” Jimmy nodded. 

“Yes or no, Jimmy?”

“Yes.”

Tony paused. “And have you touched yourself – or have you come – since we spoke in the truck?”

“No.” 

Tony smiled. “But you’re happy for me to touch you?”

“Definitely.”

“Anywhere?”

“ _Anywhere_.” Jimmy paused. “ _Please_.”

“Well since we’re back in your living room, I think we should start by finishing what we didn’t take to completion last time we were here.”

Jimmy had barely processed this sentence before Tony – once again – crossed the space between them and used a few incredibly efficient manoeuvres to cuff Jimmy’s hands behind his back. Tony spun Jimmy around, again, and established eye contact. He was struck by the tremendous affection and trust in Jimmy’s eyes, alongside the pure lust. He hoped that Jimmy understood that the feelings were mutual.

Tony roughly – yet carefully – pulled Jimmy’s T-shirt up and over his head, pulling it down Jimmy’s arms until it covered the cuffs. He took a moment to admire Jimmy’s well-defined chest, very lightly tracing a line from Jimmy’s collarbone down to his navel before quickly pinching a nipple. Jimmy gasped.

Next, Tony undid Jimmy’s belt and lowered Jimmy’s jeans and boxer briefs to the floor. He left them pooled around Jimmy’s ankles, slightly restricting his movement. Jimmy’s very hard cock, already wet with precum, pointed straight at Tony. 

“You’re really not going to last very long at this rate, are you?” Tony quickly ran his fingernails under Jimmy’s balls and up his shaft as he asked the question.

Jimmy shuddered and let out a sound that could probably be described as a whimper. “No,” he answered sheepishly.

“I’m going to put you out of your misery now, but after this, no matter what happens you are not allowed to cum until I say so. Understood?”

Jimmy gave Tony a confused look as Tony elegantly dropped to his knees and took Jimmy’s entire length in his mouth. It only took a couple of minutes of expert work on Tony’s part before Jimmy was cumming in great spurts down Tony’s throat.

_Apparently it wasn’t just Jethro who was unable to resist Tony’s superior oral skills._

Tony stood up and pulled himself close to Jimmy as he kissed Jimmy aggressively, sharing Jimmy’s taste with him. 

After a few minutes of exploring Jimmy’s mouth, Tony gently let go. “I think we’re adequately warmed up now!” Tony reached into one of the pockets of his jeans and pulled out a soft but substantial black leather blindfold. Tony carefully blindfolded Jimmy. “For the rest of the night, I want you to concentrate on what you can feel. Ok?”

“Ok.” Jimmy sounded blissed out. Tony smiled to himself.

Tony helped Jimmy to kick off his discarded jeans and boxer briefs, and then, holding Jimmy’s left bicep with one hand and Jimmy’s cuffed wrists with the other, he guided Jimmy into the bedroom. 

“I see that you found yourself a big bed with nice, sturdy bedposts. Are you sure you haven’t done this before?”

Jimmy just shook his head and moaned softly.

Tony guided Jimmy until he was standing with the back of his legs against the side of the bed. Tony pushed down on Jimmy’s shoulders until Jimmy was sitting on the bed, and then got on the bed and – after moving the pillows out of the way – carefully moved Jimmy so that he was lying on his stomach, with his head pointing toward the foot of the bed and his cuffed hands, still covered by the T-shirt, resting on the small of his back. Tony then quickly got up and retrieved a number of items from his bag and set them on the edge of the bed.

Leaving Jimmy in the middle of the bed, Tony efficiently tied a taut line between the bedposts at the head and the foot of the right side of the bed, and then repeated the process on the left side. He then grabbed a new length of rope and secured it to one of the bedposts at the head of the bed. After carefully rolling Jimmy over onto his back, Tony created a firm cuff around Jimmy’s nearest ankle with the same piece of rope, securing the ankle to the bedpost with very little give. Tony then repeated the process with Jimmy’s other ankle and the other bedpost at the head of the bed.

Tony then straddled Jimmy’s thighs, pulling Jimmy’s torso upwards toward him until it was upright. As Tony did this, Jimmy’s cock – already fully erect once again – brushed against Tony’s denim-covered crotch. The stimulation made Jimmy shudder. Tony reached around, moved the T-shirt and swiftly unlocked the handcuffs, setting cuffs and shirt aside before pulling Jimmy’s arms in front of him into the space between the two men and gently massaging them. Tony then pulled Jimmy’s torso close to his with one arm while using the other arm to help guide both of them down onto the bed. Once Jimmy was flat on his back, Tony sunk down so that he was rubbing against Jimmy’s cock with considerable pressure. Staying in this position, he carefully attached each of Jimmy’s wrists to the nearest bedpost. 

Jimmy was writhing contentedly, bucking his hips as best he could to try to make more contact with Tony’s body. Tony swiftly took action to make it harder for Jimmy to move: he used additional lengths of rope to secure Jimmy’s thighs tightly to the taut lines that he had set up at the beginning, and then also secured Jimmy’s upper arms to those lines. Tony took a moment to admire his handiwork: Jimmy was firmly tied down and very exposed, with his hard, weeping cock beautifully displayed near the center of the bed. And Jimmy looked as turned on as Tony.

Tony stepped to the side of the bed and silently shed his own clothing before returning to Jimmy. He then went to work stroking, licking, sucking and nibbling, paying attention to all of Jimmy except for that leaking cock and the areas immediately surrounding it. Jimmy’s reaction – especially once he realised that he was now feeling Tony’s naked flesh up against him – was an incredible turn-on for Tony. Jimmy kept moaning in an incredibly sexy way, and enthusiastically sucked on Tony’s fingers or lips whenever Tony brought them near. 

After some time had passed, and when Tony thought that Jimmy would struggle to last much longer, Tony started to focus his attention on the area around Jimmy’s cock. After licking and teasing at Jimmy’s thighs and hipbones, Tony started licking at Jimmy’s balls and the base of his cock. Getting a very positive reaction, Tony very slowly started working his tongue toward the head. At the same time, Tony silently coated his fingers in lube. 

As he finally swallowed Jimmy’s cock, Tony gently inserted one finger partway into Jimmy, paying careful attention to Jimmy’s reaction to the intrusion. After a moment of adjustment, Jimmy moaned even louder, trying to force Tony’s finger further in. Encouraged by this reaction, Tony probed further, aiming for Jimmy’s prostate.

Sensing that that Jimmy was very close to the edge, again, Tony paused. Jimmy sighed in frustration. Tony crawled up and kissed Jimmy passionately while rubbing his cock against Jimmy’s. Tony then whispered, “Whenever you’re ready, Jimmy” before putting his mouth and finger back to work. It was not long before Jimmy came even harder than before. 

After embracing Jimmy tightly for a few minutes, Tony cleaned up a bit and then efficiently untied Jimmy and put the ropes away, keeping the blindfold in place until the very end. Tony cradled Jimmy’s face as he removed the blindfold, trying to let his eyes express his deep affection and gratitude. Once the blindfold was off, Tony rotated the two and pulled the the covers over them before holding Jimmy tightly for several more minutes.

Jimmy slowly came back to himself. After several more minutes, Jimmy shyly touched Tony’s cock, quietly asking “May I?” Tony nodded tenderly.

Jimmy may not have had much (or indeed any) experience of _giving_ blowjobs, but the enthusiasm with which he licked and sucked at Tony’s cock – and the connection that the two had made – more than made up for this, and Tony’s orgasm came swiftly and very strongly. After a small amount of additional clean-up, the two stayed where they were for a very long time, embracing each other very tightly. Tony wanted to hold Jimmy just like this for as long as possible.

No matter what the future held, what he had with Jimmy at this very moment meant more to Tony than Jimmy would ever know.


End file.
